


Mama's Gonna Hold You Down

by DiceLyre



Category: Lost
Genre: Angst Mommies, F/F, my stomach is in knots, why did i do this to myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27297586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiceLyre/pseuds/DiceLyre
Summary: Kate rested her hand on Claire's back, leaned in to kiss Aaron's forehead. She closed her eyes and let out a breath she'd been holding for three years.
Relationships: Kate Austen/Claire Littleton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Mama's Gonna Hold You Down

A/N: A shadowy look at Claire and Aaron's reunion as facilitated by Kate, because anything more distinct would make me cry too hard to write about. Lyric below the title is from "Mockingbird" by Anaïs Mitchell.

* * *

**MAMA'S GONNA HOLD YOU DOWN**

_Hush you little baby, don't you say a word / Here comes the devil all dressed up like a mockingbird /_

_And if that mockingbird should try to steal you off the ground / Mama's gonna grab on tight and hold you down, down_

"Do you recognize her, baby?"

Aaron shook his head, and Kate kept her eyes fixed on his face. She could still feel Claire's violent flinch, still hear the sob caught in her throat. Like she was being strangled. _What will it take?_ Kate asked herself, eyes stinging. _Whatever it is, I'll do it_.

" _She_...is a very, very special person." Kate's voice was bright, but held a tremulous edge. "In fact, you two know each other very well. Right, Claire?"

Claire made a noise like a whine, catching herself off guard as she crashed all at once. She sank to her knees, face wet with tears, and reached out to finger the corner of Aaron's baby blanket. She didn't look at Kate, but drew strength from the warmth at her side.

"Yes," Claire whispered, throat thick. She wanted to say more but couldn't make the words come out, _I love you, I love you, my baby. I have thought about you for every second of the past three years and you do not remember me at all._

Aaron watched her with wide eyes, and Claire smiled, bittersweet. Kate could see what Claire couldn't; Aaron, her sweet, shy boy, was staring at Claire with a frank curiosity he never employed with unfamiliar people. He didn't even engage with Jack this way, and he had loved Jack.

"Sweetie, can you guess how you know Claire?"

He shook his head again and Kate paused on a sob. She had waited for this moment, ached for this moment, killed and bled to bring it to fruition. She was terrified of screwing it up, terrified of letting it happen. _My baby_. Kate stroked his hair, brushed her fingers across his soft cheek, and released her son.

"Aaron, Claire is...Claire is your mommy. Too."

And then it was all tumbling out, confusion and tears and a hand reaching blindly for Claire's. A confession that burned like cleansing fire, relentless and purifying, reducing Kate to dust.

"Claire is the mommy who carried you. You grew in her tummy for a long, long time. And I'm the mommy who was there to help when you were born."

Kate choked, prayed that Claire would understand, understand, understand that she couldn't just let Aaron _go_ , couldn't retire as his mother. He hadn't been hers to take, but he also wasn't Claire's to take back. Not fully. The thought filled Kate with shame, but it was shame born of love of the rawest kind.

"You know your favorite song, baby, Catch a Falling Star?" Kate's voice was husky now. Aaron nodded, rapt attention on Claire, who was clutching his blanket and shaking with quiet sobs.

"Well, Claire was the first one to sing that to you. She taught it to me so I could sing it while she was gone, while we waited for her to come back. See, Claire was lost for a little while, but now she's back."

A ragged gasp, and Claire raised her head, unable to stop herself from gathering Aaron in her arms any longer. He was so warm, smelled so sweet-

"Oh, god, my baby-"

Kate rested her hand on Claire's back, leaned in to kiss Aaron's forehead. She closed her eyes and let out a breath she'd been holding for three years.

"It's all gonna be okay, now," she murmured, willing it to be true. "It's gonna be okay."


End file.
